Me Made - and its not even May!

 This morning as I went to the closet to get dressed, I came to the sudden realization that nearly everything in it has been made by me!  Furthermore, nearly everything there is a Love Notions pattern!  Love Notions patterns are well designed and come with easy to follow instructions which often include videos.  All women's patterns are either now made with inclusive sizing from XS to 5X or will be in the near future and most include full bust pattern pieces.  And the support in their Facebook Group is excellent.  Are you a projector user?  If you come across a pattern without a projector file, Tami will make one up in no time at all!

So what are my favourite Love Notions patterns?  Well, let's start with my current favourite:

The Compose Robe

I had been hoping that Tami would come up with a robe pattern, and this year she did!  I am loving this pattern so much, and of course, I'm wearing it every day.  I made my Compose Robe with cuddly soft bamboo fleece from Discovery Fabrics in a rich bluey-green called Peacock.  I made my robe with the band finish, but also made robes for my grandkids with hoods.  It was a quick, easy pattern and the results have been perfect.  It's the robe I've always been wanting!

Which top do I wear most frequently?  That has to be:

The Sloane Sweater

Now that the cold weather is here, I seem to be living in my Sloanes and other than the free Laundry Day Tee, I think it must be the one most frequently posted in Love Notions' Facebook support group.  This particular one is brushed french terry from l'oiseau fabrics.  It's just the most basic one - no yoke, no elbow patches - but it's probably the one I wear most.  Another quick, easy pattern that goes together in minutes.

The Sloane is great for casual, but how about something a bit more sophisticated? 

The Whistler Pullover and Hoodie

The first time I wore this, I was besieged with questions as to where I'd bought it - it seemed to be hard to believe that I could have made it myself!  But I did - with the assistance, of course, from a video link right in the pattern instructions that helped me understand the challenging bit!  This one is made from cotton/spandex from l'oiseau fabrics.

The Whistler and Sloane are perfect for cooler weather, but how about something that spans the seasons?

The Forte Top & Dress

The Forte has to be one of the most versatile patterns.  While most Love Notions patterns come with options to change things up, I don't think you can beat the Forte for having the most!  I don't have a properly staged picture of this one because I had to make it up in a hurry for a party a friend's little granddaughter invited me to - I was ordered to wear red which is a colour I don't normally wear.  Forte to the rescue!  Which just goes to show how quickly you can make this one up and still get great results.  It's made from Solar Stretch from Discovery Fabrics which has no curl - with the result that I didn't hem the sleeves or bottom!

These are all great patterns for knits, but what about woven fabrics?

The Rhapsody Blouse & Dress

When warm weather arrives, I practically live in my Rhapsody Blouses! The loose, flowing fit of this pattern makes it perfect for summer's heat.  I've made them in everything from cotton to linen and love them all equally!  This one was made from cotton border fabric from my local Fabricland.  The finish on the Rhapsody is particularly professional, utilizing french seams, so it's beautiful inside and out.  You can buy bias binding for the neck finish, but it was this pattern that introduced me to making my own bias binding and now I'll never buy it again - I posted about it here.  

So what's my all-time favourite top?  Definitely La Bella Donna!

La Bella Donna Top & Tunic

This dolman has got to be the simplest pattern of all to make!  You can do it with just the front and back, turning under the neck edge to hem it.  I usually finish it with a strip of fabric for a clean binding finish.  I've made this in a variety of fabrics, but right now I love bamboo for this pattern.  I've made summer ones with bamboo jersey and this one is made from bamboo terry.  I get my bamboo fabric from Discovery Fabrics.  I particularly love the cowl neck and the curved hem is flattering.  If you need something quick, easy and good looking, La Bella Donna is your pattern!

And how about bottoms?

Duet Trousers

I just realized I don't actually have a current picture of the Duets by themselves!  But they're in every picture here, because they're the only pants I wear these days!  You can make them with woven or knit, contoured waistband or yoga band and the pattern comes with a fitting workbook that is worth the price of the pattern alone.  My most-worn ones are made with Yoga Stretch from Discovery Fabrics.  They're like wearing secret PJ pants!  Yes, they're that comfortable.  

All we need now is a coat.

The Octave Coat

Love Notions made my day when they produced this pattern - it's the coat I'd been dreaming about!  I love shawl collars, and this is a perfect length for me.  Make it dressy in wool with a sleek lining for classy.  Or make it more casual as I did with Polartec Windpro Stretch from Discovery Fabrics.  My coat is warm and yet it's water repellent.  And if it needs it, I can throw it in the wash.  Surprisingly easy to sew, the instructions have 3 video links if you want help.

Love Notions practically dresses me from head to toe - and if Tami ever came up with patterns for bras, panties and socks, I'd be the first in the line!  If you don't have one of my favourite patterns, you can get it through my affiliate links in the pattern titles.  And since my closet is filled with Love Notions clothes, you can take it that I have no hesitation in recommending them!

Happy Sewing!

Terra Tunic - with a cowl neck hack

Pattern - Love Notions Terra Tunic
Skill Level - Confident Beginner
Fabric - Discovery Fabrics' Bamboo Terry
Skills - Basic Pattern Hacking

The Terra Tunic was the first pattern I was privileged to help test for Love Notions and it will always have a place in my heart.  The Terra Tunic is a straight fitting top while not being too fitted.  One of the great things about this pattern is the variety of neck styles - scoop, v-neck, funnel, boat, asymmetrical and hooded.  I've sewn 4 of them and found them all an easy sew.  This time, however, I wanted to take the cowl neck from the La Bella Donna and put it on the Terra Tunic.

I had a length of beautiful bamboo terry from Discovery Fabrics that I wanted to use - a deep rich purple with a wonderful hand and lovely drape.  The soft inside will be just so cosy when cool weather comes.  Discovery Fabrics carries quality fabrics at reasonable prices and their service is always excellent.

We are often asked in the Love Notions Pattern Support group if it's possible to take a neckline or sleeve from one pattern and take it to another.  And of course, the answer is yes - and it's actually quite easy.

First I print out and tape together the pattern - but I don't trim the pattern yet.

I lay the La Bella Donna pattern on top of the Terra Tunic front and back, tracing the neckline on the pattern.  Now that I have the neckline I want, I simply use the cowl neck piece from the La Bella Donna and sew it in following the instructions for La Bella Donna.  It's a simple as that!

Serging the side seams

The Terra Tunic has a split hem with the back being a little longer than the front.  The instructions say to machine stitch the side seams - and of course that works perfectly.  I love my serger, however, and wanted to serge those side seams.  But how do you do that with a split hem?  It's not hard!

I machine stitch the area at the top of the split hem - starting a couple of inches above.

Then I serge the seam starting at the sleeve end and when I get to the machine stitched portion, I veer off sharply - I fold the seam off to the left to make this move easier.

Now to the ironing board.  Press side seams to the back and when you get to the split hem, fold back the vent pieces and give it a good steam press.  If you have a clapper, this is one of those perfect times to use it so you get the top of the vent as flat as possible.

I love my Terra Tunics.

 I've made matching mother/daughter ones for my daughter-in-law and granddaughter with the boat necks.   If you want to know how I made my granddaughter's tunic to match her mother's check this link out - Mummy & Me Terra Tunics.

I've used the asymmetrical neck for one I did a Love Notions blog post on embellishing with grommets.  If you want to know more about this one, here's a link - How to Add Grommets to a Split Hem.

And I used an amazing border print for the funnel neck Terra Tunic I made during testing.

The Terra Tunic gives you options that allow you to make comfortable, attractive tunics with neck styles that will make every shirt different and unique.  If you don't already have this pattern, you can get it through my affiliate link below.

Love Notions Terra Tunic

La Bella Donna - More Inclusive Than Ever

Pattern - Love Notions La Bella Donna
Skill Level - Confident Beginner
Fabric - Discovery Fabrics Bamboo French Terry
Skills - Hemming, Pressing

Love Notions' popular pattern, La Bella Donna, has been re-tested and re-issued.  This super-easy and oh-so-comfortable pattern is now sized XS to 5XL.  What's more, it now has a full bust pattern piece. It comes with three sleeve options; short, three-quarters and full length.  You can make it with the scoop neck or have a hood or cowl instead.  And for finishing off?  Hem, facing or shirt band.  It comes in shirt and tunic length.  As usual, there are so many options!

The pattern calls for medium weight knit fabrics with at least 40% stretch, and I chose to make mine from Discovery Fabrics' Bamboo French Terry in a lovely periwinkle blue.  This fabric has beautiful drape and stretch and is so comfortable to wear.  Everything I've bought from Discovery Fabrics has been top quality and the service is great.

I chose to make my latest La Bella Donna with three-quarter sleeves as I'm always pushing them up anyway.  It's such a comfortable length for me.  There's a long cuff, but the seam is above my elbow - the perfect spot.  This is a very quick pattern to sew - so few pieces!  Body, optional cowl/hood, sleeve cuffs/bands - that's it!

I don't know why I haven't made a cowl neck for myself before - I just love it.  And for a person "of a certain age" it's a perfect neckline!  Made in my French Terry, it drapes beautifully.  And once I sewed the cuffs and cowl on, all that was left to do was hem the bottom - I told you this was a quick pattern!

You have a choice of a band at the hips to finish or a hem which can simply be turned under a half inch and stitched, or faced and stitched.  I decided to hem.

You know I can't review a pattern without throwing in a hint or two, and since La Bella Donna has that flattering curved hem, I thought I would show you how easy it is to hem a curved edge.

The first thing I did was to turn the hem under .5" and secure with lots of long pins.  And then you notice that the curved hem gives you lots of bulges.  Don't panic - it's easy!

This is where your steam iron comes into play - I hate ironing, but I can't sew without my steam iron. Simply press the iron on the bulges and they shrink!  And now you can see why you use long pins.

And just like magic, the bulges are flat.  And if you wind up with a tuck or two, it doesn't matter because it's on the inside of the garment.

Let's look more closely:

Before

After

After you've stitched your hem (I did mine on my coverstitch) you may notice some waviness.  Time to press again.

I turn my  iron sideways and slide it gently down the body towards the hem.  And any waviness is a thing of the past.

La Bella Donna - which is Italian for beautiful lady - is a pattern that is quick and easy to make and the result is an attractive, comfortable garment.  There are so many options that you can make it time after time and each one will be unique.  If you bought this pattern in the past, you can get the updated version in your Downloads on the Love Notions website.  If you don't have it - you need it!  You can get it from my affiliate link below.

Love Notions La Bella Donna sizes XS to 5X

Panels and Borders and Patterns - oh my!

Patterns - multiple Love Notions patterns - links at the bottom of the page
Fabric - l'oiseau fabrics
Skills - working with panels and borders

It will come as a surprise to no one who knows me that I'm a little obsessed with panel and border fabrics!  This is probably an extension of my love of all kinds of puzzles, and hence my "handle" of puzzlnut!  I love a challenge and getting the most out of a beautiful panel or border is an exciting one.

Love Notions has lots of patterns that are tailor made for panels - and l'oiseau fabrics has the panels and border prints to perfectly complement them.  Let's looks at a few patterns first and then we'll talk about making the most of those panels.

Some panels are small enough to get a perfect little shirt and the L'il LDT in size 5 is wonderful for displaying all of the components that this zebra panel had and still leave large scraps for other projects.

Sometimes a panel must be pieced so you can get the whole project out of one panel.  This amazing bear and rabbit panel was picked by my grandson to make him a hoodie.  This particular panel was big - as in about 60" x a yard and a quarter!

The Vanguard Kit has options for colour blocking that allowed me to get a size 7 hoodie by taking advantage of the sleeve options.  I was even able to squeeze lining for the hood from the panel! I'm told it's my grandson's favourite shirt!

You can even make alterations to a pattern to get the most out of your panel.  I extended the Hazelwood Hoodie to a dress length to get the most out of the panel my granddaughter picked out.  Don't be fooled by her serious expression - she loves the hooded dress!

The picture at the top of the page is a beautiful border print which is no longer carried.  The Terra Tunic, with the mini alteration of making the front and back pieces the same length, worked perfectly to display the panel and give me a unique garment that always gets me compliments.

I used the Terra Tunic recently to make a shirt for my daughter who loves fantasy fiction.  I did cheat a bit as I had scraps left from making a shirt for an order which allowed me to get 3/4 sleeves.  I could have gotten short sleeves without it and still make the XXL shirt from the Terra Tunic pattern.

Here's the front.

And the back.

And then there's the La Bella Donna - with a few alterations it was perfect for this border print.  I evened the hem and put in a scoop neck - just because I like a scoop neck.  I also cut the sleeve cuffs from the border print.  This shirt is definitely one of my favourites to wear!

If there's not quite enough fabric to complete the garment, you have to find something that will echo colours in the panel  I used the Rockford Raglan to make this shirt for my daughter-in-law.

My original thought was red sleeves and neckband to echo the red in the umbrella, but my daughter-in-law preferred grey and I must say I agree with her choice as it doesn't detract from the panel.

Another pattern that is perfect for border prints and panels is the Prisma and it's what I used for this size 10 dress for a customer.  I'll use it to demonstrate how to get the most out of your panel.

The Prisma was perfect for this particular panel as it allowed me to get the front and back of the dress from the long tree/donkey pieces.

The first thing you need to do is to find the visual centre of the piece you're going to cut.

For me, the visual centre was right at the edge of the donkey's hat.

Now fold the fabric evenly along that line and see if your pattern piece will fit.

And the narrow a-line profile of the Prisma fit perfectly!

I've shown you a few patterns and how they worked with panels and I list them below, but there are more  You can click on any of my affiliate links below to get these patterns if you don't already have them.  And if you're looking for amazing panels, check out l'oiseau fabrics as they have a wonderful selection! A great pattern paired with a great panel, add a little imagination and you've got a unique one-of-a-kind garment.  Give it a try!

Love Notions Terra Tunic
Love Notions Rockford Raglan for Ladies
Love Notions La Bella Donna Top & Tunic
Love Notions Vanguard Kit
Love Notions L'il LDT for Girls
Love Notions Prisma Dress
Love Notions Hazelwood Hoodie